


Autumn Comes

by TheGirlWhoAsked



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Baby Fic, Dad Jonathan Byers, Fluff, Hawkins (Stranger Things), I'm always knew Charlie Heaton had dad vibes, Jonathan is lonely, Jonathan just wants to be loved, Lost Child, Nana Joyce Byers, Other, Parent Jonathan Byers, Parent-Child Relationship, Protective Jonathan Byers, Protective Siblings, So he rescues lost kids and dogs, Uncle Will Byers, protect him at all costs, stranger things
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-10-20 04:49:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20669597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGirlWhoAsked/pseuds/TheGirlWhoAsked
Summary: Autumn had always been Jonathan’s favorite season: because that’s when she came into his life. And he never thought she’d be there to stay, let alone that she’d grow up to address him as dad. Still, he can’t imagine this kid calling him anything else.So what if the rest of his class mates call him Mr.Mom at 16?Stranger things are to come.





	Autumn Comes

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my first Stranger Things fic.  
I’m just gonna leave this little one here and let you guys decide if it must continue or be left this way.
> 
> I appreciate any kind of feedback, but Comments really make my day.  
Xxx Pookie

Sometimes, Joyce does wonder how it all happened. How this little girl crossed paths with her boy.  
Sometimes, she attributes it to fate. That kid was the proof of fate. It was because of her that Joyce believes in destiny.  
Autumn couldn't have looked anymore alike to Jonathan and Will if she tried: with her brown mop of hair and her hazel eyes, and that bright smile that could rival the sun. Especially when she watches them play around, her on her dad's shoulders as Will chases them on the backyard, or when they push her on the swing and the wind blew on her hazel hair and it went all over the place.  
The impact she had on the Byers' family was so incredibly positive that a part of her is convinced all of this was meant to be. That this kid was meant to save them.  
Specially Jonathan. Which was, perhaps, why they held onto each other like they were lifelines in a troubled sea.  
He had always been a sensitive, sweet, mature and special kid. Wise beyond his age, an introvert, quiet boy with a loud head. And so selfless. He had never, not even once, turned his little down for anything. Wether it was handing over his last candy, or playing D&D with him when he could have been reading, or with his camera.  
Their dog was, in fact, an abandoned puppy young Jonathan had rescued from being rolled over in the middle of the road.  
But that particular year of 1982 things hadn't been too smooth for him: his best friend, Jack, had moved away, and poor Jonathan had been left alone. That made him an easier Target and even more vulnerable to the mocks and mean nicknames the kids at High School could throw his way.  
And not being able to do much about it killed Joyce.  
His grades dropped, as did his smile and motivation. He was moody all the time, and would lock himself in his room with his tapes for hours. He stopped playing with Will, and even snapped at him a couple of times.  
And then, on a rainy day as he was heading back home, his front lights began to flicker, so he pulled up to check them out.  
And there she was, curled up beside a tree, lost and scared of that big bad world she had ended up at. Just as lost and scared as he was.  
And he didn't have enough resentment against the world as to leave a helpless child out in the rain in late September.

🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍃

"Hey Kiddo." He stepped towards. She had flinched a bit, but didn't look away, so he held his arms up and took another step closer.  
"It's okay. Have you lost your parents?" He asked softly.  
She blinked up at him with those hazelnut eyes.  
"I can help you find them, alright?" He asked, unable to break eye contact. It seemed as though she was analyzing him, trying to see his soul.  
Finally, she slowly held her arms up, as if she hadn't done it before, and he didn't hesitate one second because it was pouring and he wanted to get home. Once in the car, he wrapped his denim jacket around her and resumed his way home.

"She was all alone, just sitting there in the rain. She looked lost." Jonathan stammered the moment he walked in, soaking wet and with his jacket on the kid.  
Joyce was a bit taken aback, but her maternal instinct soon kicked in and grabed the nearest towel to wrap it around her.  
"You did the right thing, Jonathan. Her parents will be beyond grateful."  
Jonathan took a picture of her (the first of many) and they handed it to Flo, who promised to call if anyone came looking for her.  
But no one came. So they waited for days, and days...  
They didn't mind her, really. After two boys, Joyce was rather happy to have a little girl around, for as long as it lasted. And the morning after her appearance, she bought her a couple of outfits. Because she just couldn't allow her in the same raggedy one all day.  
"Mum, she might be gone this afternoon" Jonathan protested, as he struggled to get the kid's small hand off his nose.  
"So what? They're hers to keep." She smiled at the girl, who sat on Jonathan's lap and was focused on stroking page 74 of his current Vonnegut. He had been meaning to re-read it for a while.  
The teen had stayed in home that day, so he could watch her. Honestly, he was thankful to have a break from those shitheads from school.  
Will was alright with the child being around. Even though she couldn't talk, or walk or ride bikes, he found out he could make her laugh like crazy, as well as entertaining her with his little stories, therefore decided she was good company. He lent her a stuffed dinosaur that had been first belonged to his elder brother.  
And Jonathan? Jonathan was wrapped up in her little finger since she had first reached her arms up for him the moment he had stepped out the car.  
Not that he'd admit it. Because << this is only temporary, and because this time tomorrow she'll most likely be gone back to her parents, and we won't see each other again.>>  
But Joyce knew it was mutual, because of the way her eyes lit up when he got home and how she'd only sleep when he was near, as if she only trusted him to keep her safe.  
Oh he had been so afraid when it first happened.  
"Mom!" He had whispered, a hint of panic on his voice. "Kid's asleep. What do I do?"  
"Well, you put her down. In my room."  
He had tip toed to her bed as if she was a bomb about to explode if he made a wrong movement, and lowered her on the mattress as if she was made of crystal and about to break.  
And she woke up. She instead of crying, she just stared at him with confusion and a hint of betrayal. And his heart twisted at how disoriented and bemused she seemed.  
He had looked at Joyce in terror, clueless about what to do, and she just smiled and shrugged.  
Eventually, Jonathan resolved to pick her up again, and she immediately let out a yawn, head falling on his shoulder.  
"What... What does this mean?"  
"It means you're her favorite pillow, that's all. And that she may feel better if she sleeps with you."  
He didn't complain, or roll his eyes. He simply tip toed to his room and laid down carefully. She didn't wake up this time, so he figured she was comfortable even if being on his side wasn't his usual position. "Guess we'll make do tonight, kiddo."  
Same thing happened the following night, and the one after that. And, suddenly, at the fifth night...  
"Guess we're stuck with each other another night, Autumn. Sweet dreams."  
Autumn. She wasn't kiddo anymore. Or kid. Now, suddenly, She was Autumn. Joyce couldn't help a wide smile, as a hint of pain invaded her: what if she wasn't there to stay? What if that kid, who they had rescued, fed, clothed and named… what if Autumn was taken away?

However, by the end of the second week, she had become the only person allowed in Castle Byers without the need of password. And they stopped listening out the phone.  
They stopped running towards in hopes to hear Flo. In fact, it got to the point where all of them secretly feared that call. Where Jonathan picked up fingers crossed, with a lump on his throat and a nut on his stomach. Because he didn't want her to go.  
She made him feel better about everything in general. As if having her around filled his life with a purpose. A reason to get up, the courage to make it through school day after day, and someone to come home to. Sure, Mom and Will were there as well, but they didn't wait for him like she did. She favoured him above everyone else and he liked that. It made him feel like someone again, someone valuable. Not just a target for those assholes to lash at.  
By the 6th week, they stopped expecting Flo at all. Joyce had bought her a handful of outfits, Will had given her various stuffed animals that had been his, and Jonathan got used to fall sleep on his side, listening to her breathing. They added a high chair to the table, the same one where first Jonathan and then Will had occupied as children.  
And Will had included her on a drawing for Spanish class, which was for an essay about his family.  
And just like that, Autumn was a Byers. Her blond hair turned brown and soft like theirs, and nobody ever questioned anything.  
Some people assumed she was a younger sister. Someone at high school saw her being carried by Jonathan and resolved she was the result of a one night stand with some chick. Which at least freed him of the Virgin tag. So he never denied. He didn't mind people thinking she was, somehow, his.  
Either way it didn't matter. She was one more, she belonged to them.


End file.
